Volunteers plant willow trees to stabilize river after dam removal
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FLORISSANT, Colo. — More than a dozen volunteers planted willow trees October 25 to stabilize a river bank outside of Eleven Mile Canyon.
The project comes two years after a dam was removed from the river, which significantly lowered the amount of water, but also allowed trout to swim upstream, producing more quantity and diversity of offspring.
“Water is precious, and we need to do everything we can to retain water with good restoration practices,” said Patrick Stout, a board member for Trout Unlimited, a waterway conservation nonprofit that organized the willow planting..
Colorado Springs Utilities built the dam in 1952 to pump drinking water back to the city. The dam was located on the South Platte River, a river that forms in the grasslands of Park County and stretches 439 miles to the North Platte River in Nebraska. The dam became obsolete because Colorado Springs Utilities changed the point of diversion in 1990, but the dam remained in place.
It took 17 volunteers about eight hours to produce more than 1,100 willow cuttings that they then planted near the river bank.
Video: Chelsea Casabona, Rocky Mountain PBS
“Willow cutting is the easy part. It's planting that’s hard,” said Don Logelin, another board member of Trout Unlimited who was also volunteering.
The dormant willows will then have all winter to establish roots in the river. They will be able to bud next spring, Stout said. The willow roots will embed throughout the river, which will stabilize the river by keeping the soil in place, said Logelin.
Once the willows sprout, they will provide shade for the fish and reduce the temperature of the river, which is important for the trout population, Logelin said. The fish are stressed when water temperatures climb above 70 degrees, he said. Willows also provide habitat for bugs that provide nutrients to the fish, Stout said.
Stabilizing the river reduces the amount of sediment in the stream, Logelin said.
“Fine sediment is not good for trout reproduction,” he said. “The eggs will essentially suffocate. So, that's one of the main things with the willow planning and stabilizing the soils in the area of the riparian zone.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.